Energy Conservation

Topic “Boiler”

17-Feb-20 [1]
Boiler
• A boiler is an enclosed vessel that provides a
means for combustion heat to be transferred
into water until it becomes heated water or
steam.
• The hot water or steam under pressure is then
usable for transferring the heat to a process.
• Heat is transferred from one body to another by
means of:
• (1) radiation
• (2) convection
• (3) conduction
17-Feb-20 Engr. Ahsanullah Soomro 2
Boiler
• The boiler system comprises of:
– feed water system,
– steam system and
– fuel system.
• The feed water system
• provides water to the boiler and regulates it automatically
to meet the steam demand. Various valves provide access
for maintenance and repair.
• The steam system
• collects and controls the steam produced in the boiler.
Steam is directed through a piping system to the point of use.
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Boiler
• The fuel system
• includes all equipment used to provide fuel to generate the
necessary heat.
• The equipment required in the fuel system depends on the
type of fuel used in the system.
• The two sources of feed water are:
– (1) Condensate or condensed steam returned from
the processes and
– (2) Makeup water (treated raw water) which must
come from outside the boiler room and plant
processes.

17-Feb-20 Engr. Ahsanullah Soomro 4

Boiler Types
Fire tube or "fire in tube" boilers;
– contain long steel tubes through which the
hot gasses from a furnace pass and around
which the water to be converted to steam
circulates.

17-Feb-20 Engr. Ahsanullah Soomro 5

Boiler Types
• Water tube or "water in tube" boilers
– in which the conditions are reversed with the
water passing through the tubes and the hot
gasses passing outside the tubes

17-Feb-20 Engr. Ahsanullah Soomro 6

Performance Evaluation of Boilers

• The performance parameters of boiler, like efficiency

and evaporation ratio reduces with time due to
– poor combustion,
– heat transfer surface fouling and
– poor operation and maintenance.
• Even for a new boiler, reasons such as deteriorating fuel
quality, water quality etc. can result in poor boiler
performance.
• Boiler efficiency tests help us to find out the deviation of
boiler efficiency from the best efficiency and target
problem area for corrective action.

17-Feb-20 Engr. Ahsanullah Soomro 7

Performance Evaluation of Boilers

• Thermal efficiency of boiler is defined as the

percentage of heat input that is effectively
utilised to generate steam.
• There are two methods of assessing boiler
efficiency.

17-Feb-20 Engr. Ahsanullah Soomro 8

 Performance Evaluation of Boilers

• Direct Method
• This is also known as ‘input-output method’ due to
the fact that it needs only the useful output (steam)
and the heat input (i.e. fuel) for evaluating the
efficiency.
• This efficiency can be evaluated using the formula

Engr. Ahsanullah Soomro

Performance Evaluation of Boilers

• Parameters to be monitored for the calculation

of boiler efficiency by direct method are :
• Quantity of steam generated per hour (Q) in
kg/hr.
• Quantity of fuel used per hour (q) in kg/hr.
• The working pressure (in kg/cm2) and superheat
temperature (oC), if any
• The temperature of feed water (oC)
• Type of fuel and gross calorific value of the fuel
(GCV) in kcal/kg of fuel

17-Feb-20 Engr. Ahsanullah Soomro 10

 Performance Evaluation of Boilers

• Where,
– hg – Enthalpy of saturated steam in kcal/kg of
steam
– hf - Enthalpy of feed water in kcal/kg of water

Engr. Ahsanullah Soomro

 Direct Method
• Advantages of direct method:
– Plant people can evaluate quickly the efficiency of boilers
– Requires few parameters for computation
– Needs few instruments for monitoring
• Disadvantages of direct method:
– Does not give clues to the operator as to why efficiency of
system is lower
– Does not calculate various losses accountable for various
efficiency levels
 Indirect Method
• Indirect method is also called as heat loss method.
• The efficiency can be arrived at, by subtracting the
heat loss fractions from 100.
• The principle losses that occur in a boiler are:
– Loss of heat due to dry fluegas
– Loss of heat due to moisture in fuel and combustion air
– Loss of heat due to combustion of hydrogen
– Loss of heat due to radiation
– Loss of heat due to unburnt
 Indirect Method
• The data required for calculation of boiler efficiency
using indirect method are:
– Ultimate analysis of fuel (H2, O2, S, C, moisture content,
ash content)
– Percentage of Oxygen or CO2 in the flue gas
– Flue gas temperature in 0C (Tf)
– Ambient temperature in 0C (Ta) & humidity of air in kg/kg
of dry air.
– GCV of fuel in kcal/kg
– Percentage combustible in ash (in case of solid fuels)
– GCV of ash in kcal/kg (in case of solid fuels)
 Indirect Method
• Solution :
• Theoretical air requirement

• Actual mass of air supplied/ kg of fuel (AAS) = {1 +

EA/100} x theoretical air
 Indirect Method

• m = mass of dry flue gas in kg/kg of fuel

• Cp = Specific heat of flue gas (0.23 kcal/kg 0C)
 Indirect Method
• ii. Percentage heat loss due to evaporation of water
formed due to H2 in fuel
 Indirect Method
• iii. Percentage heat loss due to evaporation of
moisture present in fuel
•
Indirect Method
Indirect Method
 Indirect Method

• In a relatively small boiler, with a capacity of 10 MW,

the radiation and unaccounted losses could amount
to between 1% and 2% of the gross calorific value of
the fuel
• while in a 500 MW boiler, values between 0.2% to
1% are typical.
Energy Conservation Opportunities
1. Stack Temperature
2. Feed Water Preheating using Economiser
3. Combustion Air Preheat
4. Incomplete Combustion
5. Excess Air Control
6. Radiation and Convection Heat Loss
7. Automatic Blowdown Control
8. Reduction of Scaling and Soot Losses
9. Proper Boiler Scheduling
10. Boiler Replacement
Energy Conservation Opportunities

1. Stack Temperature
• The stack temperature should be as low as possible.
• However, it should not be so low that water vapor in the
exhaust condenses on the stack walls.
• This is important in fuels containing signficant sulphur as low
temperature can lead to sulphur dew point corrosion.
• Stack temperatures greater than 200°C indicates potential for
recovery of waste heat.
• It also indicate the scaling of heat transfer/recovery
equipment and hence the urgency of taking an early shut
down for water / flue side cleaning.
Energy Conservation Opportunities

2. Feed Water Preheating using Economiser

• Typically, the flue gases leaving a modern 3-pass shell boiler
are at temperatures of 200 to 300 oC.
• Thus, there is a potential to recover heat from these gases.
• The flue gas exit temperature from a boiler is usually
maintained at a minimum of 200 oC, so that the sulphur
oxides in the flue gas do not condense and cause corrosion in
heat transfer surfaces.
• When a clean fuel such as natural gas, LPG or gas oil is used,
the economy of heat recovery must be worked out, as the flue
gas temperature may be well below 200oC.
Energy Conservation Opportunities
2. Feed Water Preheating using Economiser
• The potential for energy saving depends on the type of boiler
installed and the fuel used.
• For a typically older model shell boiler, with a flue gas exit
temperature of 260oC, an economizer could be used to
reduce it to 200oC, increasing the feed water temperature by
15oC.
• Increase in overall thermal efficiency would be in the order of
3%.
• For a modern 3-pass shell boiler firing natural gas with a flue
gas exit temperature of 140oC a condensing economizer
would reduce the exit temperature to 65oC increasing
thermal efficiency by 5%.
Energy Conservation Opportunities

3. Combustion Air Preheat

• Combustion air preheating is an alternative to
feedwater heating.
• In order to improve thermal efficiency by 1%, the
combustion air temperature must be raised by 20 oC.
• Most gas and oil burners used in a boiler plant are
not designed for high air preheat temperatures.
• Modern burners can withstand much higher
combustion air preheat,
Energy Conservation Opportunities

4. Incomplete Combustion
• Incomplete combustion can arise from a shortage of
air or poor distribution of fuel.
• It is usually obvious from the colour or smoke, and
must be corrected immediately.
• In the case of oil and gas fired systems, CO or smoke
(for oil fired systems only) with normal or high excess
air indicates burner system problems.
• A more frequent cause of incomplete combustion is
the poor mixing of fuel and air at the burner.
Energy Conservation Opportunities

4. Incomplete Combustion
• With coal firing, unburned carbon can comprise a big
loss. It occurs as carbon-in-ash and may amount to
more than 2% of the heat supplied to the boiler.
• Non uniform fuel size could be one of the reasons for
incomplete combustion.
• In chain grate stokers, large lumps will not burn out
completely, while small pieces and fines may block
the air passage, thus causing poor air distribution.
Energy Conservation Opportunities

5. Excess Air Control

• Excess air is required in all practical cases to ensure
complete combustion
• The optimum excess air level for maximum boiler
efficiency occurs when the sum of the losses due to
incomplete combustion and loss due to heat in flue
gases is minimum.
• This level varies with furnace design, type of burner,
fuel and process variables.
• It can be determined by conducting tests with
different air fuel ratios.
Energy Conservation Opportunities

5. Excess Air Control

• Controlling excess air to an optimum level always
results in reduction in flue gas losses; for every 1%
reduction in excess air there is approximately 0.6%
rise in efficiency.
• Portable oxygen analysers and draft gauges can be
used to make periodic readings to guide the operator
to manually adjust the flow of air for optimum
operation.
• Excess air reduction up to 20% is feasible.
Energy Conservation Opportunities

6. Radiation and Convection Heat Loss

• The external surfaces of a shell boiler are hotter than
the surroundings.
• The surfaces thus lose heat to the surroundings
depending on the surface area and the difference in
temperature between the surface and the
surroundings.
• Repairing or augmenting insulation can reduce heat
loss through boiler walls and piping.
Energy Conservation Opportunities

7. Automatic Blowdown Control

• Uncontrolled continuous blowdown is very wasteful.
• Automatic blowdown controls can be installed that
sense and respond to boiler water conductivity and
pH.
• A 10% blow down in a 15 kg/cm2 boiler results in 3%
efficiency loss.
Energy Conservation Opportunities

8. Reduction of Scaling and Soot Losses

• In oil and coal-fired boilers, soot buildup on tubes
acts as an insulator against heat transfer.
• Also same result will occur due to scaling on the
water side.
• High exit gas temperatures at normal excess air
indicate poor heat transfer performance.
• Waterside deposits require a review of water
treatment procedures and tube cleaning to remove
deposits.
• An estimated 1% efficiency loss occurs with every
22oC increase in stack temperature.
Energy Conservation Opportunities

9. Proper Boiler Scheduling

• Since, the optimum efficiency of boilers occurs at 65-
85% of full load,
• it is usually more efficient, on the whole, to operate a
fewer number of boilers at higher loads, than to
operate a large number at low loads.
Energy Conservation Opportunities

10. Boiler Replacement

• The potential savings from replacing a boiler depend
on the anticipated change in overall efficiency.
• Since boiler plants traditionally have a useful life of
well over 25 years, replacement must be carefully
studied.
Energy Conservation Opportunities
17-Feb-20 Engr. Ahsanullah Soomro [ 38 ]